Prepaid Meters and Metering for Granny Flats

Freehold residential properties often have additional dwellings constructed on them. These dwellings may be semi-detached from the main dwelling structure or may stand independently on the property. Such structures are often let to a tenant and is considered a good way for landlords to supplement their household income or reduce the amount of their own cash that they must pay to their monthly mortgage installment.

Such situations do however create a problem when it comes to charging for consumption of utilities as freehold properties are generally only fitted with one primary meter. This means there is only one account for the utility consumed on the property and it is therefore difficult to determine who used what percentage of the utility consumed.

One method of trying to solve this problem is the age-old method called the "participation quota". This method attempts to determine fair apportionment by means of calculating ratios, either by number of persons or squared meter area.

The method of "participation quota" is, as can be expected, not accurate for the reason that different people have different usage habits. One person may be in the dwelling for a longer period in the day, while another may like to leave an electric heater on all night and day during colder months. Some people forget to switch lights off even nobody is in the room where the light is burning, others are more conscientious.

Use of our prepaid meters and prepaid metering solutions makes it possible for the landlord to accurately bill for the exact amount of utility consumed in the out-building. In addition, our prepaid meters and prepaid metering solution ensures that the landlord received payment in advance before utilities are supplied to the out-building, without interfering or impairing the utility supply in the main dwelling.

Our prepaid meters and prepaid metering solutions can also be used on Multiple Tenant Dwelling properties where multiple additional dwellings have been constructed on a single freehold property.

The most common prepaid meter purchased for granny flats and out-dwellings that have BD Boards is the PPL23GT.